February 17, 2023 State Capitol Report

Both the House and Senate were in session this week and it was an action packed week again as everyone was working to meet the House Bill introduction deadline which is today. As you might remember last Friday was the Senate Bill introduction deadline.

Thousands of new bills were introduced this week, of the new bills being introduced prior to today’s deadline and upon the request of the Illinois REALTORS®, Rep. Marcus Evans, (D-33rd, Chicago) introduced our Workforce Housing bill in the House (HB3152).

You will recall an identical bill (SB2413) was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-3rd, Chicago) and Sen. Cristina Castro (D-22nd, Chicago). Neither bill has been assigned to a committee yet. Please refer to last week’s State Capitol Report for a description of the Workforce Housing bill.

On Wednesday, February 15, Governor J.B. Pritzker presented his combined State of the State and Fiscal Year 2024 budget. The Governor’s spending plan is based on projections of $49.944 billion in revenue which is expected to create a $303 million surplus. The surplus, in part, is to be set aside for the Budget Stabilization Fund or “rainy day fund”.

Last year, a huge focus of the budget was on housing. This year’s focus was mostly on Early Childhood Education and Programs. The Governor’s budget does include more than $350 million in key investments for services and supports to prevent and end homelessness through a new initiative called “Home Illinois.” The new program will target the prevention of homelessness, provide crisis response, expand housing support, and increase staff focused on assisting the homeless. The proposed budget for Home Illinois includes:

  • $26 million to provide homelessness prevention services to 5,000 additional families
  • $30 million to maintain court-based rental assistance
  • More than $155 million to support unhoused populations
  • $40 million for Permanent Supportive Housing

The presentation of the Governor’s budget signals the beginning of budget negotiations.

Bills of Interest

Click the bill number to view additional information

Several hundreds of bills were introduced this week and your Governmental Affairs Team is busy reviewing each bill. Below is a sampling of some of the bills:

Creates the Tenants Radon Protection Act to provide that before a lease is signed, a land must provide each tenant with any records that pertain to radon concentrations within the dwelling.  Also, if a tenant performs a radon test, the tenant is to provide the results of the test to the landlord within 10 days.  The bill makes other changes.

This bill would require the court to appoint an attorney for an indigent tenant in an eviction action.

This bill would require a court file to be sealed upon the commencement of any foreclosure action during the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period.

This bill makes it a civil rights violation for any person, including a real estate broker or salesman to refuse to engage in a real estate transaction due to a buyer’s conviction record.

This bill amends the Homeowners Energy Policy Statement Act by requiring any energy policy statement to explicitly include the minimum standards regarding the location, design, and architectural requirements of solar energy systems.  Prohibits HOAs from inquiring into a property owner’s energy usage, imposing conditions negatively impacting solar energy systems, and not denying permission to install solar systems.

This bill makes it a civil rights violation to refuse to engage in a real estate transaction or make property unavailable based upon someone’s immigration status.  This language was included a the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act enacted five years ago to protect tenants.  The sponsor is seeking to add this provision for all real estate transactions.

Next Week: At-A-Glance

Following the closure of state offices on Monday, Feb. 20 for Presidents Day, both the House and Senate will be in session. With bill introduction deadlines behind us, all attention will be given to the bills posted for committee hearings over the next few weeks. This is always a very busy part of every session. Stay tuned for updates.

Thank you for reading the February 17, 2023 State Capitol Report. Click here to read previous reports.